SmartView
SmartView: waveform viewer and analysis for circuit simulation
A waveform viewer that measures what it plots, whether the result is streaming live from SmartSpice or sitting in an HSPICE, Spectre PSF or FSDB file several gigabytes long.
What the SmartView waveform viewer does
SmartView reads simulation results while they’re being computed or after the run has finished, and puts the chart, the measurement and the post-processing in one window. It handles analog, RF, digital and mixed-signal results. It also compares several runs at once, so the corner that fails stands out against the ones that pass. It’s built into Silvaco’s own flow, with SmartSpice, SmartSpice Pro, Gateway and the digital simulators, and it opens the files HSPICE and Spectre write as well.
From first plot to final measurement
Most of this works from the mouse. Anything you do by hand, you can script.
Interface
Customizable toolbar, drag and drop, and a hierarchical browser for the result data. You set the preferences and layouts.
Send commands from the interface to the built-in JavaScript interpreter as you work, or script the same steps to batch-process a set of results.
Charts
Cartesian, histogram, polar, Smith and digital charts, with Y and Z Smith charts and constellation diagrams for RF work.
Stack traces on a shared X axis, or lay charts out horizontally, vertically, tiled or as a palette.
Markers and probes
AB, data, triangle, cross-section and X markers, plus probes and slope tools.
A marker snaps to the trace you’ve selected and tracks the mouse from chart to chart, so you can read a value and annotate it without leaving the plot.
Measurement
Single measurements: average, derivative, RMS, minimum and maximum.
Composite measurements: average period, cross point, delay, find at crossing, find at Y, overshoot, period and rise time.
Post-processing
FFT, eye diagram, jitter analysis, an ADC utility and a compute-bus utility.
The vector calculator comes with SPICE macros and functions already loaded, and accepts functions you write yourself.
Data handling
Arrange vectors flat or hierarchically, and filter a large result set before you plot it. Compare runs directly, or put the history of several concurrent simulations on one chart. Result files several gigabytes in size load without trouble.
Reads SmartSpice, HSPICE, Spectre PSF (binary and ASCII), FSDB, Touchstone, Harmony and Silos, VCD and Liberty files.
Where SmartView sits in your flow
Results come in from Silvaco’s simulators and from other vendors’ tools. Charts and
numbers go out to your reports and your own scripts.
Takes in
Simulation results, from Silvaco and third-party simulators. SmartSpice feeds SmartView during a run. Everything else opens from file, including HSPICE, Spectre PSF, FSDB, Touchstone and VCD.
SmartSpice: full-SPICE results as the run progresses, or once it’s done
SmartSpice Pro: FastSPICE results from SRAM and TFT display circuits
Gateway: tune a parameter on the schematic and watch the waveform follow
Hands off to
Charts and data, for reports and your own analysis. Export an annotated chart as an image or copy it to the clipboard, or save the underlying data as ASCII and pick it up in your own scripts.
Applications
Analog and mixed-signal result analysis: time and frequency domain, measured and compared across runs
RF work using Smith and polar charts: Y and Z Smith charts, polar and constellation plots, with Touchstone data read directly
Serial link analysis using the eye diagram utility: eye diagrams and jitter, where timing margin decides the result
Data converter analysis using the ADC utility: converter output checked in the time domain and, through FFT, in frequency
Who runs it, and where to read more
Mobile Semiconductor and Silicon Creations both name SmartView in their design flows.
Customer case study
July 2025
Mobile Semiconductor: memory characterization on SmartSpice and SmartView
Characterizing a memory compiler means tens of thousands of SPICE runs and hundreds of .measure statements. Mobile Semiconductor used SmartView to combine and compare those measurements and debug the waveforms behind them. Its characterization time fell by 50% after the move to SmartSpice, with SmartView for debug.
Press release
July 2025
Silicon Creations relies on Silvaco’s custom design flow
Silicon Creations has analog and mixed-signal IP in production from 7 to 180 nm. It runs SmartView alongside Gateway and Expert in its FinFET design flow.
Product brief · PDF
August 2022
SmartView product brief
Two pages covering the chart types, measurements, post-processing utilities, supported formats, and the Silvaco tools SmartView integrates with.
Documentation
July 2025
SmartView documentation
Documentation for SmartView and the rest of Circuit Simulation, in Support and Downloads.
Application note · PDF
July 2025
Interactive measurement in SmartView
Data markers, probes, and the slope, triangle and cross-section tools, step by step. It includes the snap grid, which turns a 20%–80% rise-time reading into two clicks.
Webinar · registration
August 2022
Good news: the Silvaco analog custom design flow
Updates across the analog custom design flow, including SmartView waveform analysis, alongside Gateway, Expert and Guardian.
Journal article
August 2018
SmartView: integration aspects and key attributes
From the Simulation Standard archive: how SmartView and SmartSpice were built to work together. Read it for the design thinking, because the feature set has moved on since.
See your own results in SmartView
Bring the result file that’s too big to open comfortably, or the measurement you rebuild by
hand after every run. We’ll show you what SmartView does with it.
Questions about SmartView
What is a waveform viewer?
A waveform viewer plots what a circuit simulation computed, such as voltages, currents and derived quantities against time or frequency. That lets you see a result, measure it and compare it with other runs. SmartView is Silvaco’s waveform viewer, and it adds built-in measurements, FFT, eye diagrams and multi-run comparison.
Which simulators can SmartView read results from?
It reads SmartSpice live during a run or from file afterwards. It also reads SmartSpice Pro and Silvaco’s other circuit and digital tools: Gateway, SmartSpice RF, Harmony and Silos. Results from other vendors open from file too: HSPICE, Spectre PSF and FSDB for analog, VCD for digital, and Touchstone for S-parameters.
Which data formats does SmartView support?
For analog results: SmartSpice .raw, HSPICE .tr, .ac and .sw, Spectre PSF in binary or ASCII, FSDB versions 4 and 5, and Touchstone S-parameter files. For digital: Harmony and Silos .rawd, and standard VCD. It also reads Liberty .lib files, and saves data back out as ASCII and charts as images.
Can SmartView compare results across several runs?
Yes. Load several runs at once and compare them trace by trace, or view concurrent simulations together on one plot. Filter large result sets before you compare, so the corner or Monte Carlo sample you’re chasing isn’t buried in traces you don’t need.
What measurements are built in?
Five single measurements: average, derivative, RMS, minimum and maximum. Eight composite ones: average period, cross point, delay, find at crossing, find at Y, overshoot, period and rise time. Markers and probes read anything else interactively, and the vector calculator handles your own functions.
Can I view waveforms while the simulation is still running?
Yes. SmartView follows a SmartSpice run in real time as well as opening finished results. With rubberband tuning in SmartSpice and Gateway, you can change a model or instance parameter on the schematic, and the waveform in SmartView updates as you change it, without waiting for a fresh run.
More in Circuit Simulation
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FastSPICE for SRAM and TFT displays
SmartSpice
The full-SPICE simulator SmartView reads live
SmartSpice RadHard
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InVar
IR-drop and thermal analysis
Circuit Rubberband
Real-time tuning, built into SmartSpice